Lots of colors are swirling around this little masterpiece. So Kristy

focused on the main three: green, amber, and purple. She framed the focal bead in the most dominant color, green (see the 2 fluorite beads on either side of the focal). Her necklace is strong and colorful, and complements the focal without competing with or overwhelming it. The overall effect is unified, because the colors within the focal bead are carried through the entire necklace.

How to create a necklace color scheme from an existing bead (or fabric) is one of the questions I’ve been asked the most over the years.

Last week Rachel D. wrote:

“I have a question about working with beads that are multi-colored. I have purchased lampwork glass beads that are made up of at least 3 colors. I would like to know if I should choose 1 color out of the multi-color bead and use as an accent bead or just use plain clear glass beads as accents? I hear different opinions.”

I told Rachel “Its difficult for me to give you my most informed answer without seeing the beads.

My preference is color, not clear glass beads. So I would try to choose 1 color within the beads to use as a unifying color.

That is not a rule, that is where I would start experimenting.”

To give my best answer to Rachel and you, dear reader, I devote this August 2010 column.

I’ve also created a fully illustrated, bullet-pointed, picture-says-all PDF guide titled 7 Strategies for Extracting Palettes.

Let’s discuss this question with one of the strategies outlined in 7 Strategies for Extracting Palettes.

For more of Margie’s Muse, visit http://margiedeeb.com/html/

muse.php© 2010 Margie Deeb. Some rights reserved.

MARGIE’S MUSEwww.MargieDeeb.com

The Bead Artists’ First, Only, and CompleteSource for Color Mastery

Margie’s Muse is licensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works License.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at margie@margiedeeb.com.

Making Palettes for Focal Beadsby Margie Deeb August 2010

Strategy #1 is the simplest approach, yet often the most difficult to pull-off successfully. I call it “All Colors Present.”

In this approach you employ all the colors of the existing source (the focal bead) in the necklace itself.

The reason this approach is often difficult to pull-off successfully is because it risks becoming too busy and chaotic. There’s already so much visual activity in that focal bead: you don’t want to make a necklace that competes with it for attention. Your job is to shape the colorful chaos into a pleasing degree of form and order. To do this use unifying elements, such as similar sizes, shapes, textures in the necklace strands. You can also use solid colors to “frame” focal bead.

For example, here is a colorful lampworked focal bead by my friend, jewelry designer, Kristy Nijenkamp.

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Artist, designer, musician, and color expert Margie Deeb is the author of several beading books, including the popular The Beader’s Guide to Color and The Beader’s Color Palette. Her color palette book was named the Best Craft How-To Book of 2009 by the prestigious Library Journal.

She teaches color courses for artists, interior designers, and beaders. Her free monthly color column, “Margie’s Muse,” is available on her website. She produces a free graphically enhanced podcast, “Margie Deeb’s Color Celebration,” available on iTunes.

Her articles have appeared in Bead & Button and Beadwork magazines, and she writes a regular color column in Step-by-Step Beads. She has appeared on the PBS show “Beads, Baubles, and Jewels” speaking about color. Visit Margie’s website for her books, patterns, jewelry, inspiration, and more.

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The only book of its kind written specifically for bead artists, The Beader’s Guide to Color teaches beaders of all levels everything they need to know about color to create unique and vibrant bead-work designs. Margie discusses psychological and symbolic color associations, and ways in which color can be used to create and accentuate pattern, rhythm, and movement. 21 color schemes are de-scribed and illustrated in detail with accompanying projects for all skill levels. (Paperback, 144 pages)

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